1st Impressions: FATHOM - THE ELITE SAGA # 2 Review

FATHOM: THE ELITE SAGA # 2
Written by JT Krul, Vince Hernandez & David Wohl
Art by V. Ken Marion, Mark Roslan & Kyle Ritter
Aspen Comics


FLIPPING THROUGH:

                Picking up where last issue left off, Anya had reached the surface only to be met with the United States military. And they were a bit trigger happy till Aspen showed up, cooling off our soldiers. Aspen joins Anya for the search for her daughter, getting help from the explorer, Baha.

                Meanwhile, Killian heads into the city of Aescyolt, violently demanding to speak to its ruler. Much to his surprises, he meets their new Queen.

                Baha leads Aspen and Anya to a city on the Outer Borders when they are met with some … unexpected resistance.

ART:

                By the matrix, the spirit of Michael Turner flows strongly in this title’s art. V. Ken Marion almost mimics Turner’s style perfectly with a few little details that set him apart a little from Turner’s work. V. Ken Marion definitely has a flair for good, dramatic panels, poses and composition as none of the panels seem borning.  Roslan’s digital inks really help flesh out Marion’s work, keeping it sharp and visually appealing.

                The backgrounds of the deep look interesting. The city of Aescyolt was visually stunning. The battles looked Kinect, lively and interesting. And Ritter’s colors all brought the world of Fathom together as the Deep looked stunningly diverse.  Each character had their share of emotion, although Killian seemed a bit more stiff than everyone else dealing with the emotions he was dealing with visually.

                That minor gripe aside, this was a stunning, hauntingly well rendered issue.


WRITING:

                This issue definitely felt like it shifted the focus mostly on the quest that Aspen and Anya has undertaken while also inducing us to some new players. This issue had multiple surprise that really threw me off on more than one occasion. And each of these surprises seemed more and more interesting as the book went along.

                Krul was able to take the plots that he had made with Hernandez and Wohl and give us a great issue and showing of Aspen. This issue alone shows why she is indeed the companies face and signature character.  Aspen was strong, confident and she had no problem showing that while also still being compassionate. Killian is showing that he may be a control freak but he really does care for his family as he goes out of his way searching for his missing wife and daughter. Anya struggle with faith after her daughter was taken was realistic and gripping.

                This Saga is introducing us to some new adversaries, new status quos rolled with the surprises with excellent pacing to match. Nothing felt out of place. Krul, Hernandez & Wohl construct this issue carefully and Krul gives us a surprise nearly every act of this issue which made it that much more engaging. A fantastic job by the writing team.

OVERALL REACTION:

                This second issue did not waste time at all. It got into the emotions of the main players, set up more conflicts, showed changes in status quo and introduced various surprises. We got multi-faceted looks at many characters (Aspen, Anya, Killian) while also got to see what changes were put into place (the new Queen of Aescyolt).  The art is stunning, pacing excellent, the story engaging & the book leaves you wanting more.


RATING:

                If you thought the first issue was good, then you definitely won’t be disappointed by this second issue as the stakes grow. I give Fathom: The Elite Saga # 2 a 9.5 … out of 10. Buy it when it comes out on June 26^th.